Death Cab For Cutie On Track For Billboard 200's Top Spot

First day sales of Death Cab For Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" put the album on course to top next week's Billboard 200, according to the Nielsen SoundScan Building chart released Wednesday (May 14).

First day sales of Death Cab For Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" put the album on course to top next week's Billboard 200, according to the Nielsen SoundScan Building chart released Wednesday (May 14).

Based on unweighted sales from nine leading music accounts through the close of business Tuesday (May 13), "Narrow Stairs" registered a first-day sum of 54,000 copies. That represents a significant lead over Building chart runner-up Jason Mraz, another artist distributed by the Atlantic Group. Sales through Tuesday for Mraz's "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" stood at 21,000.

Industry pundits project that "Stairs," Death Cab's second major label effort, will tally in the range of 135,000-145,000 in its first week, which should be more than enough to seal the top spot.

Among recent rock albums, a first-day Building sum of 54,000 for Panic At The Disco's "Pretty.Odd." led to a final tally of 131,000, while a 53,000 start for Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" translated to a full-week tracking of 172,000.

Earlier Building tallies by Gavin DeGraw and Serj Tankian suggest Mraz could start north of 60,000. Of his two earlier full-length studio albums, 2005 release "Mr. A-Z" earned his best chart rank, opening at No. 5 with 81,000 sold.